Roosevelt Row's Jobot coffee shop to shut down

PHOENIX - Another Roosevelt Row business is closing its doors -- the latest in a series of places that have sold to make room for more apartments in the historic arts district.

After seven years in business, Jobot Coffee and Diner will shut down, leaving about 30 people without a job right before Christmas.

"It's just a place for birth, for creation, for art, for ideas.. community.. all of the good things," said Tabatha Christian, a Jobot employee.

For Tabatha and so many others, all of the good things start at Jobot, a place that smells like coffee, but feels like home.

"It sounds silly, 'cause it's just like a coffee shop. I just have so many memories here and they're good and bad.. so many emotions here. And I've seen my friends' art on the walls and I've seen my friends play music here and now that it's gone, it's just like, where do we go?" asked Marie Wallace, a regular customer at Jobot.

The quirky coffee spot is closing, even though the owner has said he understands that business is business and has no hard feelings toward the landowner. It's still bitter news for some to swallow.

"You're born to your family, but then you choose your family later in life and that is definitely something that exists down here very, very deeply," said Tabatha.

30 employees will hang up their aprons in just over a week. It's a trend Stacey Champion of Champion PR says she's witnessed too many times in the downtown area. She adds that she understands gentrification, but aches for her tight-knit artsy community.

"There are pictures of shiny people and dog wash stations versus murals and weird, quirky parties and almost all the galleries are gone," she said.